Do you set aside one day of the week only for rest? Here’s how to choose sabbath rest each week.

How to Choose Sabbath Rest

I don’t know anyone who isn’t busy with all the things. And yet, the most peaceful people I know take one day a week for rest, worship and rejuvenation.

Our culture doesn’t encourage us to rest. The fear of missing out can drive us to go, go, go seven days a week. Since many places of business are open 24/7, it’s tempting to treat the Sabbath like any other day. Or perhaps as a catch-up day for the other six jam-packed days of the week.

Yet God wants Jesus-followers to treat the Sabbath differently. Very differently and very intentionally.

Sabbath rest was established way back at the beginning of the Bible. Let’s look at one of the Ten Commandments that describes why God considers the Sabbath important:

Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.Exodus 20:8-11 MSG

Did God really need to rest on the seventh day of creation? No, of course not, because God never gets tired. Yet he did this to establish the pattern of rest for us, even before sin had entered the world.

God wants us to observe the Sabbath to keep it holy, to be set apart ourselves as holy. He wants us to give this day back to him. Our Sabbath rest is a powerful evangelistic message to the larger culture. It says we do things differently out of respect for God.

Keep in mind that anytime God tells us not to do something, it’s to keep us from getting hurt. He doesn’t say “don’t do any work” to punish us or to take the fun out of our lives. He says this to help us have the best life possible. The most peace-filled life possible.

How I Chose to Establish Sabbath Rest

When my children were young, I worked hard to establish Sundays as our day of rest. We developed a rhythm of worship, resting (with literal naps), and rejuvenation.

Sometimes rejuvenation looks like watching sports together on television, shooting baskets in the driveway, puttering around in the garden, or completing a creative project. Nearly every Sunday, it looks like a home-cooked dinner, complete with dessert.

I can’t say I’ve never done a few loads of laundry on a Sunday. Nor can I say I haven’t checked email or gone shopping. But as a rule, Sundays are the slowest day of the week for us. And they are the most refreshing.

Over the years, I’ve observed that when I pause for a Sabbath rest, God will multiply my time on the remaining six days of the week. The times I’ve treated the Sabbath like any other day, my whole week feels more frenzied. It’s amazing how powerful one day of rest can be.

If you’re not in the habit of slowing down for Sabbath rest, I encourage you to start small. Commit to two hours of downtime each Sunday for a month. Try to cross a couple extra things off your to-do list on Saturday to free up space on Sunday.

Then in those two hours, do things that rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit. Spend a portion of that time focused solely on God. Over time, you can increase those two hours to a full day of rest, and you’ll feel refreshed and renewed as well as closer to God.

Of course, if you work weekends, you can switch this schedule around to the day that’s best for you to take a break. The goal is to make a concerted effort to observe one day as holy, in honor of God.

What changes do you need to make this week to take a Sabbath rest?

I don’t know anyone who isn’t busy with all the things. And yet, the most peaceful people I know take one day a week for rest. #sabbath #rest #soulcare
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How to Choose Sabbath Rest was first published on Kingdom Edge Magazine’s website in 2020.

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